As they walked out of the meeting room, Averi rubbed his temples, looking a little exhausted.
"What's the plan for later?"
Jordan replied, "Nothing urgent for now, but at 7 p.m., there's an International Women's Day event hosted by the Women's Federation."
"International Women's Day? What am I supposed to do there?"
Jordan reminded her, "It's Maggie's event. She called you two weeks ago to invite you."
It took Averi a moment to realize that Maggie was her mother-in-law, Maggie.
No wonder she doesn't remember anything about the Hebert family.
Knowing Jordan was thorough, she must have handled everything already. Averi casually asked, "What have we prepared for the event?"
"Under Maggie's name, she donated $380,000 to the Women's Aid Foundation and charity programs. Additionally, she contributed 200 boxes of sanitary pads and 3,000 meals for girls in rural areas."
She covered everything, both financially and materially. Averi nodded and added, "Make sure to follow up on the implementation and prepare a report for Maggie."
"Got it." As they entered the elevator, Jordan said, "Boss, your wife called again yesterday to ask when you're free."
Averi didn't respond, unsure if she'd even heard it. The elevator doors opened with a ding, and she asked, "What's on the schedule for tomorrow?"
"Two meetings in the morning, then in the afternoon, I'll be heading to the Summit Center in the South District for a site survey with Director Maxwell and Manager Cooley. We'll listen to the report from the person in charge, and it should be wrapped up before dinner."
"And for the evening?"
"There aren't any plans for now."
Averi thought for a moment and said, "Then clear tomorrow night."
"Alright."
Her eyes drifted to Jordan's slightly protruding belly. Averi softened her tone, "Jordan, take care of yourself. If you're not feeling well, don't hesitate to take time off."
Jordan smiled and patted her stomach, "Thanks, Averi. This one's not as much of a handful as Johnathan."
Averi nodded.
The next evening, Averi drove straight from the Summit Center to a villa in the East Side.
Since Christopher had suffered a stroke from stress caused by Eli eleven years ago, Teagan had spent at least half of each year in the country. Fortunately, when she moved to S Country, she hadn't liquidated all her domestic assets, and she still owned three properties, one of which was a small two-story villa in J City.
Three summers ago, when Christopher passed away, Teagan returned to S Country after the funeral and stayed there for nearly half a year, only coming back by the end of the year. Since then, she had been commuting back and forth, but overall, she spent more time in S Country than in the domestic country.
Averi knew someone was waiting for Teagan in S Country. She didn't address it, and Teagan didn't bring it up either. The two silently avoided the topic.
Jordan had called ahead, so Teagan knew Averi was coming and instructed the housekeeper to prepare a few dishes that Averi loved.
In reality, Averi's tastes had changed long ago, but Teagan's understanding of her still seemed to be stuck in the past, when she was a young girl.
Averi took two work calls in between, which delayed her for over forty minutes. By the time she returned to the table, the food was cold. She had completely lost her appetite, took a bite of salad, and then set her fork down.
Teagan glanced at the barely touched rice in her bowl and raised an eyebrow. "You're barely eating anything."
Averi lied nonchalantly, "I'm not that hungry since I had a late lunch."
Her excuse was reasonable enough for Teagan to let it slide, but then she switched gears and asked, "Averi, what do you think about it?"
Here it comes.
For the past couple of years, every time Teagan saw her, this topic was sure to come up.
"Miss, could I have a glass of warm water?" Averi turned to call someone, casually adjusting her posture, pretending not to understand, "What do you mean by 'what do you think'?"
"What do you think about having a baby?"
"Let it happen naturally."
Knowing she was dodging, Teagan looked up and stared at her, saying directly, "Let it happen naturally? You're thirty-eight now. How long do you plan to wait for that?"
"I've been too busy lately—"
"This is just an excuse," Teagan interrupted her, saying, "Jordan follows you everywhere. Wherever you go, she goes. If you work overtime, she works overtime too. She's about to have her second baby."
Averi remained calm. "These things can't be forced."
"Averi!" Teagan's expression suddenly changed. The jade bracelet she had been holding slammed onto the marble table, shattering with a sharp crack.
Realizing she had overreacted, she quickly turned her head away, taking a deep breath to regain composure.
After hesitating for a moment, Teagan gritted her teeth and blurted out, "Do you know that Milo and that woman, Zoie, have a son? He's starting elementary school next year."
Averi remained silent, her delicate face showing no sign of emotion.
Teagan's face changed again, half in shock, half in doubt, "You know about this?"
"Something like that."
Teagan felt a lump form in her chest. Her emotions soared briefly, then plunged rapidly. In the end, all that remained was a deep exhaustion.
She said, "Milo is still young, and he won't do anything because of some illegitimate child. But he's a man, and don't underestimate a man's obsession with procreation. In ten or twenty years, when he's in his forties or fifties, he could turn his back on you for that kid, do you believe it?"
"I know you don't like Milo, but this is something that can't be ignored. You need to hold on a little longer and think about it after you have children."
Averi laughed lightly and downplayed the issue, "I don't dislike Milo."
It's just that she couldn't muster any interest in having sex with him. Her body's reactions didn't lie, and slowly, Milo lost interest too.
But strangely enough, they got along well. They'd never had an argument, and sometimes, when they had breakfast together, they'd chat a little about their work.
The mirror across from her reflected Averi's soft, almost tender smile. Time had been kind to her. At thirty-eight, the corners of her eyes were still smooth, and her jawline remained firm.
She should be happy, shouldn't she?
Teagan's face twisted in disgust. "Do you want that bastard child to inherit the Forbes family?"
But Averi thought to herself, she didn't mind. Milo's genes were fine, and Zoie had been with him for so long, so she must be a smart woman. Their child would likely have good qualities.
Of course, she wouldn't say that aloud. She only said, "Eli's baby is about to be born. Mom, the Forbes family isn't lacking children, so you don't need to worry about heirs."
Even if Eli's child doesn't work out, there's still Johnathan and Laila's children, and in the future, Odin's too.
With all these kids, we'll definitely find one to be the heir to the family.
Teagan snapped, "That's different! They're not your own children!"
Averi gave a small smile and stood up to grab the half-broken jade bracelet that had landed on the windowsill. "Dad has six kids, all his own."
She still remembered when the doctor declared that Cristopher's heart had stopped. Mareli had been quiet for about ten seconds, then squeezed her youngest son's hand and called the lawyer.
As for the others, they began discussing how to handle the funeral arrangements right there and then.
Averi had thought that at least Johnathan would be heartbroken, but to her surprise, he only cared about whether Cristopher could be buried alongside Yoselin. Laila, though dissatisfied, couldn't help but sarcastically remark, "It's time for Averi to make her appearance again." Despite her dissatisfaction, Laila was still willing to return to V Country to fulfill Yoselin's last wish.
Averi was genuinely surprised, and at that moment, she felt an unprecedented curiosity about Yoselin, a woman she had only heard of but never met. What had she done that, even after more than thirty years of passing, her children would still honor her wishes so fiercely?
Teagan found the remark a bit harsh. She couldn't see Averi's expression and couldn't tell if there was any malice behind her words.
Averi turned around and handed Teagan the half bracelet. "What a shame. It's hard to find jade like this nowadays. I'll have Jordan inquire tomorrow and see if we can find a master craftsman to set it in gold, it should look good."
Before Teagan could speak, Averi smiled and said, "Mom, I know."
Her eyes were as calm and cold as a deep autumn pool.
Teagan's heart skipped a beat as she suddenly recalled Saul's advice: "Teagan, you can't treat Averi like a daughter anymore. She's the chairman now."
